Kiren Rijiju called the Dalai Lama the "most important and defining institution" of the Buddhists, and said nobody else can decide his successor.

Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday stated that only the Dalai Lama and the established religious institution have the authority to decide on his reincarnation, rejecting Chinas claim to influence the process.

China insisted the Dalai Lama's next reincarnation must follow Beijing laws, but the Tibetan leader's office asserted the Gaden Phodrang Trust alone holds the power to decide the Budhist monk's successor.